Lookout360°

A 6-month Climate Change Immersive Story Accelerator

About

Video offers the most powerful way to tell engaging human stories for digital media. After speaking with 50+ journalists and scientists across the world, we discovered that newsrooms and science communities see the opportunities with telling climate change-related stories in a more innovative way. Yet while there is excitement around immersive videos, many journalists have simply not had the chance to experiment with the new formats. On the other side of spectrum, science communities are questioning how journalists report about the topic, especially how scientific expertise and evidences are used in storytelling.

Lookout360° is the pilot project of our new 6-month immersive storytelling accelerator programme. It combines in-field training and 3-month mentorship to support journalists produce immersive stories with a focus on climate change.

The European Forest Institute and the Global Editors Network are joining forces to launch the pilot project which supports journalists produce 360-degree videos on climate change and people’s lives.

A total of 10 journalists and producers from 10 media houses based in Europe and beyond will be invited to a bootcamp that offers a training on climate change storytelling, as well as a 101 crash course on 360° video filming and post-production. To offer a unique first-hand experience in producing a story focusing on how the local communities are being affected by climate change, the bootcamp will take place in the extreme north of Finland, where the Sami people, the indigenous communities in Lapland, live.

After the in-field bootcamp, the programme gathers scientists and 360-degree video experts to support the participants in developing, iterating and publishing a story within a 3-month period. The final projects will be showcased at the GEN Summit in Lisbon on 30 May – 1 June 2018, both on the conference main stage and in the GEN Dome, an immersive storytelling-focused exhibition.

Message from the President of the Sami Parliament of Finland

The Sami culture is very much tied to nature. Clean and healthy nature and environment are the very cornerstones of our culture. Climate change has brought impacts to our traditional yearly calendar of everyday activities. Being able to move in nature safely and use its offerings sustainably, are in the centre of our traditional knowledge and ways. When living in extreme weather conditions, this is very much a safety concern. Media have a crucial role in making the climate change related issues globally known – especially since every individual has the chance to influence our Mother Nature’s well-being and health.

Tiina Sanila-Aikio, President, The Sami Parliament of Finland

Timeline

15 November 2017Call for application launches

18 December 2017Call for application closes

18 December 2017 - 9 January 2018 Selection period

10 January 2018Selected media to be announced

1 February – 2 February 2018In-field bootcamp in Finland

March – May 2018Production period with mentorship support

30 May – 1 June 2018Project showcase at the GEN Summit in Lisbon

Trainers

Jean-Yves Chainon
Director of AR, VR & 360 Video at the Global Editors Network, photographer and filmmaker, Jean-Yves Chainon has also served as a VR/360 Producer at The New York Times and his work has been featured in publications such as The Washington Post and AJ+. He is also the CEO of JYC, an augmented and virtual reality production studio. He graduated from Brown University and has previously served on a one-year contract working on Google Ads and as a social media and digital news specialist for the US State Department.

Carole Chainon
Carole Chainon is a VR Producer at the Global Editors Network and also the COO of JYC, an augmented reality, virtual reality and 360 video production studio. Her work has been featured in publications such as Discovery‘s VR affiliate Seeker and AJ+, and showcased by Samsung VR and the Newseum. She’s helped with the production of the GEN Summit, VR Studio, and to manage GEN's VR Study Tours. Carole also has an MBA.

Benefits

Opportunity to learn on how to cover climate change with a scientific mindset

Mentorship support by 360-degree video experts after the field trip to get you started

A 360-degree video camera to bring back to your newsroom (model TBA)

Chance to get your final work showcased in front of hundreds of editors at the GEN Summit 2018

A story to take away from the field-trip in Lapland

Eligibility

You are a journalist or producer who has (near to) zero or little experience with 360-video storytelling

You are committed to publish at least one 360-degree video before the GEN 2018 Summit

You cover climate change-related topics, including human stories

You are excited about immersive storytelling, but need support to get started

You would be able to travel to Ivalo, Finland, on 1-2 February 2018

You can travel on foot and are ready for the challenge of being in cold weather (down to -35°C!)

You are able to cover local transport costs and expenses outside of the bootcamp days

You are able to communicate well and follow the crash course in English

Your newsroom editor/manager agrees to the above and can articulate how they will support

Selection criteria

Your commitment: Participant must be able to commit to to fully take part in the programme, including the bootcamp in Lapland and mentorship sessions (4x30 min online sessions during February - May 2018).

Minimum one video: Newsroom/editorial team must be able to support the publication of at least one video before the GEN 2018 Summit, with a reference to Lookout360° in the credit of the published video. Additional support from newsrooms is ideal but not required. Our programme will equip the participants to be able to cover the entire process of filming, production and publishing directly to the social channels such as Youtube, Facebook, Twitter etc.

Your location: We are working with limited budget to cover logistic costs for the bootcamp in Finland; that’s why our primary focus is Europe-based participants. Are you based outside of Europe? Please apply nevertheless - we may find a solution to get you join the initiative.

Organizers

The European Forest Institute (EFI) is an independent international science organisation which generates, connects and shares knowledge at the interface between science and policy. EFI has 28 member countries who have ratified the Convention, and 115 member organizations in 37 countries, working in diverse research fields.

The Global Editors Network (GEN) is committed to sustainable journalism, empowering newsrooms and media innovators through a variety of programmes designed to inspire, connect and share. The organization is a community of more than 1300 Editors-in-Chief and media professionals from all platforms. It is a non-profit, non-governmental association.